Chapter 109
ELODIE’S POV~
“Mm. Let’s go p>
I entered the room first, and when Dante followed, I said, “Close the door p>
I didn’t want our argument, if it came to that, to disturb Liora.
Come to think of it, though we’d been married for years, our relationship was far from good, yet we’d never had a loud argument. Not once. Dante had always been too indifferent to engage in something like that, let alone argue with me.
And as for me? I’d treasured every moment with him, back when I still thought there was something worth treasuring. I couldn’t bear the thought of fighting with him then.
Now, though? Now it felt different.
Dante casually closed the door, then turned to look at me, his expression unbothered. “What are we talking about p>
I got straight to the point. “Sienna’s aunt bought the villa across from my uncle’s house. They’ve been renovating it for some time now, and it’s likely they’ll move in soon p>
Sienna’s mother was surnamed Green. Janice Green.
But the complicated history between the Miller family and the Green family didn’t start with Janice and my mother, Sally Miller.
It started long ago, between our grandmothers, when they were young.
They’d once been close friends.
Sienna’s grandmother had a difficult marriage and a hard life. My grandmother often helped her, gave her food when she had none, clothes when she needed them, shelter when things got bad. And later, their granddaughters, Sally and Janice, also became good friends.
The Miller and Green families were well-matched back then, and my father and mother had a love marriage. They had a good relationship at first. But things began to change after my mother returned from university.
In order to help my mother rise in status, Sienna’s grandmother’s family had already torn their ties with mine.
Over the years, whenever they ran into each other outside, the Green family adopted a condescending attitude toward my uncle and grandmother. No trace of the humility and sincerity they’d once shown when they were seeking refuge with my family. No gratitude. Just arrogance.
The complicated relationships between the Miller, Brown, and Green families had been ongoing for years. Even though I hadn’t gone into detail, I believed Dante knew all about it.
And I believed that by now, he understood exactly what I meant.
Dante did understand.
He pulled out a cigarette, paused as if thinking, and then asked, “Do you want me to make them move out p>
“Yes p>
He took a drag from his cigarette but didn’t speak right away.
The heavy and suffocating silence stretched between us, and I could feel my pulse in my throat, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.
This matter was especially important to me. There were other things I could ignore, had ignored, for years. But not this. Not my grandmother. Not my uncle. Not the people who’d actually stood by me when everyone else had turned their backs.
My eyes stung, and I hated it. Hated that I was on the verge of tears in front of him. But I couldn’t help it.
I looked at him, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to keep it steady. “Please. Just agree. Whatever condition it is, I will p>
Before I could finish, I heard him say, “Okay p>
I froze.
For a moment, I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. I just stared at him, trying to process what he’d just said.
“What?” The word came out softer than I intended.
Dante took another drag from his cigarette, his eyes still on me, his expression unreadable. “I said okay p>
I blinked, my mind scrambling to catch up. I’d been prepared to beg. Prepared to negotiate, to offer him something, anything, in exchange. I’d been bracing myself for a fight, for him to dismiss me or make some cruel comment about how it wasn’t his problem.
But he’d just… agreed?
I hadn’t expected him to agree so decisively.
The tears welled up before I could stop them, blurring my vision as my mind went completely blank. I’d been prepared to beg. Prepared to negotiate, to offer him whatever he wanted in exchange. But he’d just… said yes.
I blinked rapidly, trying to pull myself together, and hurriedly said, “Thank you, then you p>
Before I could finish asking about the conditions, because there had to be conditions, there were always conditions with Dante, he suddenly moved his cigarette away and reached out.
His hand was warm against my cheek as he gently wiped away the tear that had slid down. The touch was so unexpectedly tender it made my breath catch.
“Get some rest,” he said quietly.
Then he turned and walked out of the room.
I stood there, stunned, watching his retreating figure. For a moment, I forgot how to react. My cheek still tingled where his fingers had been, and my heart was doing something strange in my chest, something I didn’t want to examine too closely.
By the time I snapped out of it, I found myself unsure of what to do next.
Dante had told me to rest early. Was that his way of suggesting I stay here for the night?
Though I’d moved out, we hadn’t officially divorced, so staying for one night wasn’t such a big deal.
But if I stayed in the master bedroom p>
I hesitated, my eyes drifting toward the bed we used to share.
No. That felt wrong. Too intimate. Too much like pretending things were normal when they absolutely weren’t. I couldn’t lie in that bed, breathing in the scent of his cologne on the pillows, and pretend my heart wasn’t breaking.
After a moment, I grabbed my things, packed a change of clothes and some toiletries, and headed to Liora’s room.
That night, I slept in Liora’s room, curled up beside my daughter, listening to the soft rhythm of her breathing and trying not to think about the man down the hall.
The next morning, I woke up before 7 a.m.
I lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, my mind churning through everything that had happened the night before. Dante’s agreement. His hand on my cheek. The way he’d looked at me, just for a second, like maybe I still mattered.
I shook the thought away. I couldn’t afford to read into things that weren’t there.
Not long after, Liora stirred beside me and woke up, immediately clinging to my neck and playfully asking if I could take her to school.
I smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “Of course p>
After washing up, we went downstairs for breakfast.
The dining room smelled like fresh coffee and toast. The housekeeper had already set everything out, the fruit, yogurt, scrambled eggs, all of it were perfectly arranged.
Not long after we sat down, Dante entered the dining room and took his seat across from us.
Liora’s face lit up. “Good morning, Dad p>
“Good morning,” Dante replied, his tone warm as he looked at her. Then his gaze shifted to me, lingering for just a moment before he looked away and quietly started his breakfast.
I didn’t say anything. I just picked up my fork and focused on my plate, cutting my food into smaller and smaller pieces even though I wasn’t particularly hungry.
Even though Dante had agreed to help me with the matter, that didn’t mean things between us would change. Our relationship remained as it always had been, distant and detached. This was just a temporary truce, nothing more.
I couldn’t let myself forget that.
After breakfast, I took Liora to school, watching as she ran off toward her classroom with her backpack bouncing on her shoulders. Then I headed to the office.
Since attending the tech exhibition, both Johnny and I had come up with a lot of new ideas. But because of our busy schedule with the Wilson Tech collaboration, we hadn’t had the time to dive deeply into our plans.
Now that we had some breathing room, we were focusing on finalizing everything and figuring out how to push forward.
So we had a lot to do today.
I’d planned to order takeout for dinner and stay late at the office to work, but around 6 p.m., when I was still buried in code and hadn’t even had time to think about food, my phone rang.
I glanced at the screen and saw it was Dante.
My stomach tightened. I excused myself from the meeting, stepped outside into the hallway, and answered. “Hello p>
“Nonna’s here,” Dante said, his voice calm and matter-of-fact. “Come home early p>
My breath caught.